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With Venezuela being the 50th country posted I am happy to announce that I have reached the end of my 50/50 project, sharing 50 images from 50 countries (with 50 stories). I will soon make the entire collection available in its entirety.

While on assignment in Venezuela in 2005 I traveled all night by van from Caracas due west to visit the country’s second city, Maracaibo. We arrived after sunrise exhausted and dripping from the humidity and heat, and immediately proceeded to explore this sprawling metropolis that was a respite from the gridlock and constant safety issues of Caracas. President Hugo Chavez was in office, and there were already signs of a county on the verge of collapse. This image selected here of a group of teenagers cruising in a late model US automobile, passing by political posters bathed in late afternoon sunlight tells part of the story of this rattled country.

Vanuatu is a remote Pacific island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean, about a five-hour flight northeast of Sidney, Australia. A number of years ago I was sent there on assignment by Travel + Leisure Magazine, to document a journey through the archipelago on a beautiful 60’ two masted ketch. Our travels between islands brought us one day to a settlement on Ambrym Island where we were greeted by the village elders. After a brief introduction, they donned their ritual garb and proceeded to begin ceremonial dances in the area in front of their monumental and beautiful Slit Gongs. Years later I came across a similar Slit Gong from the same village at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was immediately transported back to this moment in time.

This wonderful scene is part of my Waiting for Lady Gaga series photographed one sunny morning in Times Square. I was walking north on Broadway and spotted this crowd that had gathered outside the back door of the Good Morning American Studios on West 44th Street. The scene was other worldly; each person seemed frozen in a pose, and the light bathing the scene was reflected off a distant skyscraper. The fans were waiting in droves on both sides of the street with phone cameras at the ready, all facing the exit doors of the studios in anticipation of Lady Gaga’s exit from the building.

While walking around the different neighborhoods of Kiev I came across this scene which was reminiscent of classic photography from decades’ past. The two shadows appeared on cue to turn a visual exercise about forms and shapes into a moment captured in time.

Like this:

In light of recent events Turkey has been on my mind quite a bit these days. This scene from a rural elementary school in the central part of the country, between Ankara and Konya, is timeless. It shields the viewer from the current mayhem that has erupted outside the window.

A number of years ago while on assignment in the eastern Caribbean island of St. Lucia I was fortunate to come across this scene of a group of young fishermen who were rounding up their large nets in a remote cove in the late afternoon. It turns out that this was a successful day’s catch with fresh fish for everyone. Perspective was important in order to convey the energy and movement of the scene. The combination of fish, strong bodies and surf framed by the circularity of the scene made for a energized composition. And I did have grilled fish in the evening.

In 2006, while continuing my project for the worldwide company AES, my travels took me to Sri Lanka. I managed to talk my host into including a trip to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, located about two hours northeast of Colombo, the capital. The orphanage is the largest of its kind in the world, hosting over 75 elephants in a natural setting, and is a major eco-tourist destination. As we arrived late afternoon just in time for the feeding hour I jumped out of the jeep and with the help of two workers was transported inside the fences between the anxious crowds and a baby elephant who was being guarded by some protective adult elephants. What majestic creatures!